EMI cutting 1500 Employees, 1/5 of Artists

[lerxstcat]

Saw this on Good Morning America in the lobby of the clinic waiting to see my doctor.

I can't think of what metal acts may still be on EMI; I think Queensryche moved, and they're not metal anymore either. Anyway, I feel badly for all those employees and artists; since the industry's just consolidating more, it's not likely any of them will land a job or deal nearly as good as what they had, even if the artists are on the bottom of the foodchain.

[PowerTube]

Re: EMI cutting 1500 Employees, 1/5 of Artists

Their argument about music downloaders hurting them is bogus. You know what's really hurting the music industry? The stupid crap they're marketing. There are some outstanding bands out there that none of us will ever get to hear because the record companies can't figure out which neat little category to put them in. Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson are promoted like they're the greatest things to ever happen to music while some great bands get ignored.

As far as I'm concerned, they made their beds and they can sleep in it.

[Svart]

Re: EMI cutting 1500 Employees, 1/5 of Artists

they got greedy, that's all... artists got to make millions in an instant or they are 'dissapointing'... over here in Europe popmusic cd's cost 20-25€... nucking futs! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

[charvelguy]

Re: EMI cutting 1500 Employees, 1/5 of Artists

Originally posted by PowerTube:
Their argument about music downloaders hurting them is bogus. You know what's really hurting the music industry? The stupid crap they're marketing. There are some outstanding bands out there that none of us will ever get to hear because the record companies can't figure out which neat little category to put them in. Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson are promoted like they're the greatest things to ever happen to music while some great bands get ignored.

As far as I'm concerned, they made their beds and they can sleep in it.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Two words..William Hung. If there was ever a nightmare to follow Ricky Martin, he is it.

[JimmyApollo]

Re: EMI cutting 1500 Employees, 1/5 of Artists

Though (from what I've heard, anway) CD sales have not taken a major hit due to downloading, in certain markets downloading has completely destroyed retail sales.

When I moved to Ann Arbor (home of the University of Michigan) six years ago, there were at least 20 different record shops in the downtown/campus area. On one of the main streets bordering campus there were at least six shops within three blocks. In '98 downloading started to pick up, and soon with Napster it was everywhere. Now, all six of those shops are closed. Even the venerable Schookids Records, one of the most well-known in the country, was forced into exile (literally). All that remains is Borders (the original store, but a huge corporate one at that), one cool shop down the street, and a bunch of hole-in-the-wall stores scattered around. Sure, I bet a lot of these places felt the pressure from the big corporate stores like Best Buy and Media Play, but they thrived on the student body. When the students found they could get this stuff for free, the retail stores couldn't cut it.

[pro-fusion]

Re: EMI cutting 1500 Employees, 1/5 of Artists

Besides downloading and ridiculously high cd prices, other forms of entertainment, such as video games and the Internet, have really cut into cd sales by providing other entertainment options for the optimal 14-21 year old target market.

And frankly, there are a lot more niche music labels than there used to be. Look how many small labels service the underground metal scene alone. Now extrapolate that out to all of the other forms of music ignored by the major labels. Add all that up, and you are talking about a huge percentage of the market that the major labels are simply ignoring--at their peril, in my opinion. The major labels decided sometime in the '80s that they could manufacture the talent (boy bands, teen divas etc.) and create "McMusic" that would sell by the bucketload. They are now paying for that strategy with total consumer apathy by anyone over the age of 14.

[pro-fusion]

Re: EMI cutting 1500 Employees, 1/5 of Artists

The reason the niche labels are able to exist is that it is a LOT cheaper to record and manufacture albums, thanks to digital technology, than it was 20 or 30 years ago. Back then, you pretty much had to have major label backing just to be able to make professional recordings. Now, guys can do that in their homes on a small budget, and have a bunch of cds pressed up and ready to sell for less than $1,000. A small label can do it much cheaper than that on a per-unit basis. So all you get now with the major labels is access to promotional budgets--and those are mostly used to give out payola to big corporate radio companies to play songs a certain number of times. The major label/corporate radio thing has turned completely rotten, and the whole edifice is on the verge of falling down.

[Lev]

Re: EMI cutting 1500 Employees, 1/5 of Artists

big record companies will be obsolete within 10 years... unless they really come up with a way to embrace the internet. However, its been 10 years, they have billions of dollars, and they still haven't come up with a solution... soon enough they'll be gone and who knows what will come.

[ApeDosMil]

Re: EMI cutting 1500 Employees, 1/5 of Artists

YOu guys would laugh, but check out the new KoRn video, Mtv would never play that video.

go check it out under "downloads"

http://www.urbanchaosvideos.com/

[wulfe13]

Re: EMI cutting 1500 Employees, 1/5 of Artists

It won't let me see it! "No Downloads from outside!"

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: EMI cutting 1500 Employees, 1/5 of Artists

Originally posted by lerxstcat:
I can't think of what metal acts may still be on EMI;

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I think Iron Maiden is still on EMI, if I recall correctly. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Svart]

Re: EMI cutting 1500 Employees, 1/5 of Artists

they blame it all on downloading, but if they held their salesprices reasonable there would be a lot less download and then they only have to worry about their unending greed... damn sob's [img]graemlins/eyes.gif[/img]

[monk]

Re: EMI cutting 1500 Employees, 1/5 of Artists

It costs a fortune to cover up all the lack of talent......

[Sephiroth]

Re: EMI cutting 1500 Employees, 1/5 of Artists

Originally posted by PowerTube:
Their argument about music downloaders hurting them is bogus. You know what's really hurting the music industry? The stupid crap they're marketing. There are some outstanding bands out there that none of us will ever get to hear because the record companies can't figure out which neat little category to put them in. Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson are promoted like they're the greatest things to ever happen to music while some great bands get ignored.

As far as I'm concerned, they made their beds and they can sleep in it.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I agree. Instead of releasing more talent, greedy labels are only releasing crap they think they can sell for easy money so it's their own damn fault. I wouldn't even steal any of the crap I'm hearing out there right now because t sucks that much to me.

[PowerTube]

Re: EMI cutting 1500 Employees, 1/5 of Artists

I hate it when I want to post something but I'm really sketchy on details, but anyway..... I recently read where a book publishing company was going to try an "on demand" printing system. In other words, you buy the book and they print it and send it to you. I think it's a great idea, as opposed to spending the money to print thousands of copies that may go unsold.

I can see music being done the same way. You go into a music store to buy an "album," and the clerk then burns the CD and prints the CD cover while you wait. I'm sure there would be other logistics involved, like maybe having to enter an authorization code to download the CD contents or whatever, but I think it could work.